Gap Year Student Safety Travel Testimonials

The children loved Charlie’s virtual training day with them on Zoom - they thought he was brilliant & are so excited about their trip.

Victoria - Mother

Whilst preparing for my first big travelling trip, I read guide books, visited websites and looked at forums. However, none of these could prepare me as well as the Objective Travel Safety course did. In just a few short hours, I learned pretty much everything I’d need to know whilst I was travelling. Charlie used his own experiences to give advice that wasn’t just helpful, but also interesting and encouraging. It made me feel confident and excited to travel for 6 months to places I’d never been to before. The course is an essential for any first time traveller! 

Ella Swarbrick

As a 22 year old, post university, I initially thought it overcautious when my neurotic mother signed me up for the course ahead of a solo 4 month trip to Central America. I thought I was sensible enough to know what to do while travelling (even though I hadn’t been before) and was worried the course would just scare me – I was already beginning to feel pretty nervous as my departure date approached.

Ellie Sleep

Thank you so much for the most wonderful day! I had such a great time and it answered all of the questions I had flying around my head - I feel much better about leaving now and I really think it's given mum some peace of mind! 

I will definitely add to the Safety Net if I get into some trouble...!

Matilda Rock

“I got so much out of yesterday’s virtual course. I am travelling to Thailand and surrounding areas next month and the course was relatable and easy to understand and has given me loads of helpful information. I highly recommend anyone doing one of these courses as it opens your eyes to what can happen and leaves you with lots of valuable hints.” Ben, Gap course attendee.

Ben - Gap Year Safety Course

I have been meaning to write to the team at Objective Gap Safety ever since I got back from three months travelling in Africa.  I had attended your brilliant Objective Gap Safety Course in December, but crucially, my travelling partner had not.

Ed Cubitt

Having done a fair amount of travelling before, I was a bit sceptical about coming to the course as I was unsure whether it would provide me with any new useful information, but I have to say that it was absolutely fantastic and proved invaluable.

Harry Wadman

I signed Katherine up for one of the Objective Travel Safety courses, despite being told by her that it was unnecessary. She had already started packing at this stage but on coming home from the course, the rucksack was emptied and she started again.

Liz Mellor, Mother

Currently half way through my 5 month travels, I can only now appreciate how useful the course was, with advice and tips constantly in the back of my mind and Charlie remaining an ever knowledgable and accessible source of information. I would highly recommend this to anyone heading travelling. Thanks so much!

Milo Eadie

Once again, thank you so much for the course we did on Thursday - it blew my expectations out of the water!

Harry Leng

I would firstly say the reason to take the course is because many people start their gap year believing it's going to be months of plain sailing which it is not, but the course puts you in the right frame of mind going into and knowing what dangers lie ahead. It also increases your confidence massively when you touchdown that you are capable of handling yourself in many situations Losing passports, money, cards and ending up in dodgy areas on your first week or month is never nice and you feel even further from home than you already do.
When you start on your trip you believe you have all the gear and all the tricks because you spoke to someone who went travelling before you and you looked at a page on the internet. Charlie has been doing this for many years and he has seen hundreds, thousands of people pass through his door and has seen first hand many countries and heard of lots of stories of people after their trip. So he is hugely experienced and heard all sorts of possible problems that can go wrong.

Max Wiggin

The course was very good. Normally I have a really short attention span but I didn’t zone out once.

Millie Clough

I attended this course with a friend before backpacking around South America for six weeks in summer. I think it's fair to say we were both pretty sceptical beforehand, but the course was both remarkably interesting and extremely useful. I've sat through a couple of health and safety-type courses for other things which were pretty sceptical beforehand, but the course was both remarkably interesting and extremely useful.

Chris Louis

Charlie’s Gap Safety Talk has inspired many generations of our students to embrace the positive benefits of taking a gap year, as well as broadening their horizons as to the places they may want to visit. His expertise is legendary amongst our students, who respect completely his views on all aspects of gap year travel, with calm advice on how to stay safe expertly blended with practical advice on how to get the most from the opportunities that will present themselves. His down-to-earth approach and his amazing depth of experience makes this an invaluable part of our pastoral programme and I can’t recommend it too highly!  

Ian Edwards, Tudor Hall School

"Just wanted to say how much my son enjoyed the course on Thursday. He has told us all about it in great detail!!! I think he is feeling much more confident about his upcoming trip. We are extremely impressed with the wide range of advice given. Please pass on our thanks to Charlie".

Jane Harrison, Mother

"We've been working with Objective Gap Safety for over 12 years now and they never disappoint. Charlie and his team spend a whole morning with our LVI year group every year, giving them vital tips and advice on everything from dealing with natural disasters to choosing your travelling companions wisely. Their guidance is realistic, relevant and to the point - but at the same time it is imbued with a passion for travel and a desire to inspire our students to be adventurous and see the world....but to do it safely. Students who attended the course in June this year, felt it was one of the most useful presentations they'd ever been involved in and are already planning their gap year trips for 2019. Even for students who are planning trips of only a few weeks in duration, this is a brilliant course."  

Jan Leeper, Hurstpierpoint College

"Just writing to say thank you and how great the course was last month. I’m just sat in Manchester airport about to go away for 7 months and thought I should say thank you to Charlie and the team. I feel prepared with both the things I have packed and also the advice I learned from the gap year safety training course. I’m sure I will be practicing everything I learned daily whilst I’m away!"

William - Leeds

I had an absolutely brilliant day with you guys and learnt so much - so inspiring!, will definitely be recommending to my other friends!! Keep up the amazing work!

Simone Feilberg-Nielsen

I could not recommend Objective Travel Safety more highly. To equip your son/daughter with the skills and confidence to make the most of their GAP year and to allow parents to sleep peacefully!!  My daughter attended the day course which gave her the confidence to travel to Mexico on her own.

Anna Gage - Mother

Amelia found the course really helpful with tips that she hadn’t thought about previously. Really good practical advice and well delivered. It has given us reassurance that she’s done the course with you and I suspect will have taken on the advice better than had it been from her parents! 

Many many thanks, Anna-Kate

Gap Year Traveller Mum

My daughter really enjoyed the course. She had been slightly resistant to attending to say the least… On the way home she texted me “sorry to have doubted you, it was actually really really good!”

When home we had an action replay of the best parts of the day which was very entertaining. I will certainly be recommending you. Thank you for putting so much effort into the delivery.

Suzanne Kershaw - Mother

"Freya loved the course and found it incredibly empowering and inspiring. Thank you to the whole team.

Emily Lusty - The Language Gap

16 years ago (in 2003), I did a gap year safety course, with Nick (?) if I remember correctly.  What I learnt has subsequently kept me safe across six continents and many countries.  I’ve just got back from travelling in the Middle East, incident free. I still use the ‘READE’ method, still don’t eat unpeeled / unboiled fruit/veg and always check my luggage before crossing borders etc. 

Richard - Gap Course Attendee

Harry loved the course on Tuesday and came back inspired and better informed about the year ahead.

Sally, Mother of Gap Year Course Attendee

I was fairly cynical about the course (my neurotic mother booked it) but it was fantastic, thank you!

Alastair Dean

“I really enjoyed the course, it was very informative and I feel that I am more likely to return home safely with all the tips I picked up.  Thank you"

Hugo - Gap Course Attendee

I attended your online - virtual gap year/travel safety course yesterday. I am going to Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore (seeing family) and then India. I just wanted to say thank you for the course. I think it was really useful just to pick up tips and pointers which will make a big difference when I’m travelling.

Course Comments from Gap Course attendee

Helena said it was a great course! Thank you so much.

Mum of Gap Course Attendee

I found the course very useful. It was incredibly informative, easy to engage with and covered a wide variety of different issues - many of which I had not given any thought to.  There was plenty of advice and lots of further resources pointed to and suggested - these will help me both in the planning process and when I am travelling.

Alexander Carson - Attendee on recent Virtual Gap Course

I wanted to feed back that Tatty LOVED the course. She went along in a slightly eyes-rolled, “do I have to do this” sort of mentality… and came back raving and saying how INCREDIBLY useful it was and how everyone should do it. She said how interesting your insights were and what an interesting set of experiences you had had! Given her particular speciality is setting off to climb a mountain in a T shirt and refusing to take advice on warm clothing (or waterproof clothing) EVER I am particularly grateful how struck she was by the advice on hypothermia!!

Mother of Gap Course Attendee

I did then Gap Year Travel and Safety course online and the course was really insightful, Charlie was great and really personable - going the extra mile to ensure all my questions were covered and even providing some extra travel route recommendations at the end. There was definitely many situations referenced which I would not have known how to handle without the course! 

Grace Stansall-Seiler

This is a great course for any student thinking of travelling. Charlie was very informative and goes the esteem mile to help on routes and planning over the course objectives. I feel he gave them the confidence to plan and be sensible as well as enjoy travelling even with covid to contend with.

December 2021

Parent - Daughter attended Private Gap Year Travel and Safety Course

Course was great and very helpful in organising and planning our route. Lots of great tips and good fun.  Thank you.!
 

Course Attendee

Gap Year Travel and Safety Course Attendee

I attended the gap year safety course recently. I thought the course was absolutely worth the money I paid for it. I liked the large variety of the topics covered, to give us advice and tips about everything that may happen when I’m away.

I particularly benefited from Looby’s “girl talk”, how to determine which street food is safe to eat and what isn’t, the first aid and the tour of the recommended kit which we also had the option to buy at the end.
 

Maia - Course attendee

I’ve recommended you to several of Harry's friends’ parents - it’s given me real peace of mind that he took the course.  He landed in Costa Rica yesterday.

He very much enjoyed the course and the kit he bought from you, as well as the items we bought online last week, they are going to come in very handy.

Mother of Gap Year Course Attendee

‘Charlie’s workshops were extremely helpful for the students looking to take a gap year. They learned how to be safe whilst traveling, as well as practical tips for various countries. When asked for feedback the students said they loved everything about the workshops. Thank you Charlie for taking the time to get to know our students and teach them how to travel safely!’

Tutor - Eton College, Virtual Travel Safety Course

WOW, what an incredibly comprehensive and extensive workshop you delivered to the girls and boys today! An ABSOLUTE MUST for every student planning on traveling during their gap year! I will be honest they were all very sceptical beforehand but within 5 minutes you had their attention 110 %!  

Charlie and Looby delivered the workshop in such an interesting and fun way that it was fully absorbed by all and they were also completely unaware of time! Every eventuality was covered, from where to sit on a bus, what sunscreen to wear, how to get yourself out of some tricky situations should the occasion arise, some fun roleplay and much much more!

As a parent we can now send them off knowing that they are far better prepared and they are likewise feeling more confident with an increased awareness and knowledge for their exciting travels ahead.

Thank you Charlie and Looby for all your invaluable support and guidance and thank you Helen for making my life so easy in organising this workshop on their behalf!  

Private Gap Year Travel Safety Course

Review "I thought that the gap year safety course was fantastic, I left it with so much useful information and specifics that will be invaluable to my travels. As well as this it was presented very engagingly with little anecdotes which made it a very fun day.

The speakers were very welcoming and friendly and made me feel at home from when I stepped through the door and even stayed later to speak with me personally over a drink. Overall a brilliant course, would definitely recommend".

Aiden Saunders - Gap Course January 2024

Absolutely brilliant - I couldn't recommend more highly.

I organised a course with Charlie for my daughter and a group of her friends before they headed off on their gap year travels. I know some of them were sceptical before the start of the day as to whether it was really necessary. But each and every one of them were enthusing about it at the end of the day and were so glad they did it.

They have left feeling a lot more confident in how to deal with any difficult situation and having had to consider a lot of scenarios that they will hopefully never find themselves in. Looby was also fabulous, covering off some specific advice for the girls. They also have a great selection of essential travel kit to buy too.

Carolyn James - Gap Safety Training Day

This is rather a late thank you for your virtual gap year safety course which me and Archie found really helpful and enjoyed! We head off to Uruguay in a couple of weeks and are really excited.

Best wishes, Oscar and Archie

Oscar and Archie - Virtual Gap Year Safety Course

Charlie delivered an excellent, honest talk on how to stay safe when travelling and gave our students ideas on interesting places to visit. His vast experience of travelling was apparent as he relayed stories and tips which engaged pupils and prompted questioning at the end. The travel safety talk was very interesting and informative, thank you.

Caroline Atkinson, Work Experience and Apprenticeships Officer, Oakham Rutland School

Caroline Atkinson - Oakham Rutland School

I'd just like to say I found the gap safety course very informative and useful and feel much better about going away have done it. 

Oliver Knight

Frederick: "I went to this one day course thinking that I knew it all but you don’t know what you don’t know! I now feel much better prepared for my solo trip, particularly in terms of how to minimise risk and respond if I find myself in challenging situations.  Worth mentioning that Charlie integrates realistic situational role play which highlighted easy mistakes to make, making for a much more valuable learning experience. I highly recommend.”

Charlotte (the concerned parent). “Anxiety was building around our 18 year old son cycling solo UK to Singapore. Only natural for the young to think they are invincible, but naivety can be a dangerous thing and advice from family and friends easily becomes ‘white noise’. Charlie’s objectivity, thorough and engaging course content cuts through. We feel we’ve done as much as we can do as parents, he came home the wiser and frankly anxiety levels all round have reduced significantly! Now it’s over to him. Highly recommend this course to any parent.

Frederick - Solo cycling trip UK to Singapore. One day private course

“I am reassured by my son doing this course as the information was delivered in a relaxed and informal way that kept him interested and meant he took in the important points (rather than us parents trying to convey them!) We are very appreciative of all it covered and would highly recommend Objective Travel Safety and this Gap Year Travel and Safety course”. Mum of Gap Year Travel and Safety course attendee.

Mum of son who attended Virtual Gap Year Travel Safety Course

I just wanted to write and say that my daughter really enjoyed this course and was very pleased she attended. To be honest she was a bit sceptical about it, as was I, but having heard her talk all about it on her return from London, it was really worthwhile.Thank you, Pippa
 

Gap Year Course - Mum Testiminial

"I travelled to Limuru, Nanyuki and Nairobi in Kenya. I could not have had such a safe and amazing trip without the help of the Objective gap travel safety team as they gave me necessary health, safety and packing information (including female specific advice which is very important)! They however also filled in some ‘common sense’ points for me which I found very useful as a first-time solo traveller and they helped me to make the most of my trip even at times when I felt out of my comfort zone.

I highly recommend this to anyone travelling, really in any capacity, but especially somewhere quite unknown as it will maximise what you get from your trip (and minimise any potential accidents!)"

Thank you so much,
Lily

Lily - Gap year traveller to Kenya